News Broadcasting
God TV official b’cast partner of ‘The Passion of the Christ’
MUMBAI: On 7 May one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year – Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ will be released in cinemas across India. God TV is the official broadcast partner of the movie.
The channel will have special promotions and features like a making of the featurette as well as trailers. God TV was launched a couple of years back in India and Asia. The free-to-air channel claims availability in 15 million homes in India with a potential viewership of 75 million.
As reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com , Los Angeles based Kintop Pictures is distributing the film. Addressing a media briefing this afternoon, Deepak Nayar who heads the company said that the censor board okeyed the movie sans cuts. “On the marketing front we will be using buses and outdoor hoardings. We are also conducting screenings for members of the clergy in different states. The feedback has been extremely positive and it was on account of the realism that the censor board gave the film a clean chit. There are other countries like the Middle east where quite a few scenes have been cut.”
The company will release 50-60 prints in Mumbai and in the South. Based on the response, it will decide whether or not to progress North. At a later stage the company could look at dubbing the film in Hindi and Tamil depending on the demand.
Nayar added that though the whole film is in Aramic and Latin, the director and producer Mel Gibson did not want the film to be subtitled at all. “He felt that the powerful images were sufficient to tell the story,” said Nayar. One of the interesting things about the film is that Satan is depicted as a woman.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
